☀️ Morning digest February 20

The following is a list of selected news summaries last weekend by the Vietnam News Agency.
☀️ Morning digest February 20 ảnh 1
Hanoi, (VNA) - The following is a list of selectednews summaries last weekend by the Vietnam News Agency.

– General Secretary of the Communist Party ofVietnam (CPV) Nguyen Phu Trong and President of the Cambodian People's Party(CPP) and Prime Minister Hun Sen co-chaired a high-level meeting between thetwo Parties in Hanoi on February 18.
The event aims to enhance the goodneighbourliness, traditional friendship, and comprehensive, sustainable andlong-term cooperation between Vietnam and Cambodia.Read full text

- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hosted areception in Hanoi on February 18 for General Tea Banh, Deputy Prime Ministerand Minister of National Defence of Cambodia.
The host congratulated Cambodia on its importantachievements, especially in COVID-19 prevention and control as well associo-economic development, and the success of the communal elections in thefifth tenure, and the successful performance of the role as the ASEAN Chair in2022.Read full text

– Minister of National Defence Gen. Phan VanGiang and visiting Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of NationalDefence, Gen. Tea Banh, reviewed their ministries’ cooperation in 2022 andagreed on a cooperation plan for this year during talks in Hanoi on February 19.
Addressing the talks, which were held followingan official welcome ceremony for the Cambodia official, Minister Giangexpressed his belief that Gen. Tea Banh’s official visit to Vietnam will besuccessful and create a new impetus for the two countries’ friendship,including between the two defence ministries and militaries.Read full text

– A search-and-rescue team of the Ministry ofPublic Security returned to Hanoi on February 19 after completing its 10-daymission of helping with the search and rescue of earthquake victims in Turkey.
A report of the team’s head, Colonel NguyenMinh Khuong, said the team has fulfilled all the tasks assigned by the Turkishside, searching for victims at three areas. The team, in coordination withlocal and international forces, saved a survivor and took out the bodies of 14victims. The colonel said the team was appreciated for its whole-heartednessand professionalism in working.Read full text

– The Kep railway station in the northernprovince of Bac Giang launched its international freight transportationservices at a ceremony on February 18.
In his remarks, Vice Chairman of the provincialPeople’s Council Nghiem Xuan Huong stressed that such international servicesare expected help ease congestions of goods in the border area and pressure onthe two present international railway stations – Dong Dang and Yen Vien.Read full text

- Despite the high cooperation potential, tradebetween Vietnam and Yunnan province of China has remained modest at only 3.2 billionUSD in 2022, a very small amount of the 175.6 billion USD in trade betweenVietnam and China in the year, according to Vu Ba Phu, Director of the TradePromotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).
Speaking at a recent Vietnam-China trade,investment promotion forum, Phu highlighted the important role of Yunnan, whichborders four northern localities of Vietnam, in the economic and tradepartnership between the two countries.Read full text

– The visiting Settsu patrol ship of the Japan Coast Guard helda joint training session with ships of the Vietnam Coast Guard Region 2 Commandin the central province of Quang Nam before leaving Da Nang, concluding asix-day friendship visit to the country from February 13.
During the training session, officers and crew members of theSettsu, and the CSB 4037 and CSB 6001 of the Vietnam Coast Guard Region 2Command, exchanged experiences and implemented plans on search and rescue andfire prevention and fighting at sea.Read full text/.
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Vietnamese Ambassador to Brazil and Suriname Bui Van Nghi (second from right) meets with representatives of Suriname’s national oil company Staatsolie. (Photo: Embassy of Vietnam in Brazil)

Vietnam, Suriname promote substantive cooperation across multiple fields

Surinamese President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons spoke highly of the friendship between the two countries and expressed her desire to expand cooperation with Vietnam in agriculture, aquaculture, expert exchanges and technical training, thereby enhancing production capacity and ensuring food security.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President To Lam (sixth from right, front row) visits the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen on October 19 afternoon (local time). (Photo: VNA)

Top Vietnamese leader visits Niels Bohr Institute in Denmark

Joachim Mathiesen, head of the institute, briefed the Vietnamese guests on its history and research activities. He said that as a leading physics research centre at the University of Copenhagen, the institute is renowned for its foundational contributions to atomic physics and quantum mechanics.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung (right) and Liechtenstein Prime Minister Brigitte Haas (Photo: VNA)

Liechtenstein Prime Minister concludes official visit to Vietnam

The two sides also agreed to expedite the ratification of the Vietnam-EFTA Free Trade Agreement and accelerate its implementation once it enters into force, while strengthening cooperation in green transition, the circular economy, renewable energy, emissions reduction and climate change adaptation.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President To Lam (second from right) and his spouse Ngo Phuong Ly meet with King Frederik X and Queen Mary. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam treasures time-tested friendship, multifaceted cooperation with Denmark: Top leader

Both leaders welcomed the positive development of the bilateral relations, particularly since the establishment of the Comprehensive Partnership in 2013 and the Green Strategic Partnership in 2023. Economic, trade and investment cooperation has continued to expand, with Danish companies such as LEGO, Pandora and Carlsberg operating and expanding their business in Vietnam, contributing to socio-economic development, job creation, technology transfer and sustainable green growth.

Minister of Industry and Trade Le Manh Hung (L) meets with Swiss President Guy Parmelin. (Photo: Ministry of Industry and Trade)

Vietnam–EFTA Free Trade Agreement targeted for implementation in 2027

Switzerland is Vietnam’s largest trading partner within the EFTA. Swiss statistics showed that bilateral trade reached approximately 3.5 billion USD in 2025, up nearly 26%. According to Vietnam's Department of Customs, two-way trade totalled 806.2 million USD in the first nine months of 2026. As of September 30, Switzerland had 247 valid investment projects in Vietnam, with total registered capital of around 2.5 billion USD, ranking 20th among 154 countries and territories investing in the Southeast Asian country.

King Frederik X (L) presents the Order of the Elephant to General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President To Lam (second from left). (Photo: VNA)

Top Vietnamese leader receives Denmark’s highest-ranked honour

General Secretary and President Lam said he wishes to dedicate this great honour to the Vietnamese people, generations of Vietnamese and Danish people who laid the foundations for and have nurtured the two countries’ friendship over the past 55 years, and those in both countries who are carrying this legacy forward and ushering bilateral relations into a new chapter of development.